Some years stand out as Special. Looking back, 1967–the year I graduated from High School in June and started my college education at Marquette University in September–qualifies as a Special Year. I was also writing passionate letters to my girl friend each week. She would send me perfumed letters in return that became the envy of the guys on my dorm floor. Life just seemed sharp, intense, and vivid that year. Everything felt amped up…I never felt more Alive!
The carry-over of all that emotion extended to and influenced my music listening experience. I listened to a lot of music in 1967 and continued to buy vinyl albums. You’ll notice the absence of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and other British Invasion groups on this CD. They may not be represented on this TIME-LIFE CD but I was listening intently to all that music at the time, too.
Was 1967 a Special Year for you? Do you remember these songs? Any favorites? GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
| A1 | Jefferson Airplane– | Somebody To Love Written-By – Darby Slick | 3:01 |
| A2 | Box Tops– | The Letter Written-By – Wayne Thompson | 1:56 |
| A3 | The Turtles– | Happy Together Written-By – Alan Gordon, Garry Bonner | 2:57 |
| A4 | The Mamas & The Papas– | Dedicated To The One I Love Written-By – Lowman Pauling, Ralph Bass | 3:02 |
| A5 | The Supremes– | Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone Written-By – Holland-Dozier-Holland | 2:50 |
| A6 | The Young Rascals– | Groovin’ Written-By – Eddie Brigati, Felix Cavaliere | 2:33 |
| B1 | Jackie Wilson– | (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher Written-By – Carl Smith (2), Gary Jackson (2), Raynard Miner | 2:58 |
| B2 | Tommy James & The Shondells– | I Think We’re Alone Now Written-By – Ritchie Cordell, Robert Ackoff | 2:09 |
| B3 | Smokey Robinson & The Miracles– | I Second That Emotion Written-By – Alfred Cleveland*, William Robinson | 2:48 |
| B4 | Scott McKenzie– | San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) Written-By – John Phillips | 3:00 |
| B5 | Procol Harum– | A Whiter Shade Of Pale Written-By – Gary Brooker, Keith Reid | 4:03 |
| C1 | Aretha Franklin– | Respect Written-By – Otis Redding | 2:28 |
| C2 | The Buckinghams– | Kind Of A Drag Written-By – James Holvay | 2:12 |
| C3 | Paul Revere & The Raiders– | Good Thing Written-By – Mark Lindsay, Terry Melcher | 3:04 |
| C4 | Gladys Knight And The Pips– | I Heard It Through The Grapevine Written-By – Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield | 2:50 |
| C5 | Wilson Pickett– | Funky Broadway Written-By – Arlester Christian | 2:35 |
| C6 | Strawberry Alarm Clock– | Incense And Peppermints Written-By – John Carter, Tim Gilbert | 2:49 |
| D1 | Arthur Conley– | Sweet Soul Music Written-By – Arthur Conley, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke | 2:21 |
| D2 | The Electric Prunes– | I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) Written-By – Annette Tucker, Nancie Mantz | 2:57 |
| D3 | The Music Explosion– | Little Bit O’ Soul Written-By – John Shakespeare (2), Kenneth Hawker | 2:22 |
| D4 | Four Tops– | Bernadette Written-By – Holland-Dozier-Holland | 3:04 |
| D5 | The Monkees– | Daydream Believer Written-By – John Stewart (2) | 2:56 |
Decent collection. I could do without The Buckinghams, Scott McKenzie, and The Strawberry Alarm, Clock. My favorites are Jefferson Airplane, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Box Tops, and Procol Harum.
Steve, 1967 featured a lot of groups with wacky names. Don’t forget The Electric Prunes!
At last! A collection with songs I recognize. In fact, I recognize all of them. I’m old.
Not all the songs are my favorites, but there is nothing here that would have me switched the radio dial as I cruised around with the top down on my convertible.
Jerry, cruising around listen to the radio seems to be a Lost Art now that gas is over $4.00 a gallon! Ah, but those were the days!
Some of those songs I really like, especially The Grapevine and Whiter shade of pale.
And of course anything relating to the hippie summer(s) of love like San Francisco -but the others?
San Franciscco would have been my dream destination for a holiday but I had to wait almost 20 years for that to happen …
Wolf, in the Sixties, San Francisco and LA were prime settings for private eye novels. Today, California seems to be on fire all year long!
Yes! A representative sampling of music from that era. Favorites include “Respect”, “Bernadette”, and “Groovin’”, but as Jerry said, none of the songs here would make me turn off the radio.
Your memories of 1967 put me in mind of the lyrics to “When I Was Young” by The Animals:
“When I was young, it was more important
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young”
Everything was so much more intense—or perhaps that’s just in retrospect.
Deb, while my memories of 1967 and its music are vivid, I’d be hard pressed to remember what I was doing in 1997!
Everything new, including the hormonal rushes.
I don’t remember these songs myself, but my great-grandparents used to play them a lot.
Dan, I still play the music of the Sixties and Seventies on a regular basis. A song like “I Second That Emotion” brings back a lot of memories!
I’d say 1967-68 are the heart of what we think of as the Sixties, and there’s some really good stuff here. My favorites are Jefferson Airplane and Procol Harum(the only British Invasion band here) and the much underrated Monkees. The only real thumbs down goes to Scott McKenzie. I’m drawing a blank on The Music Explosion and, although I loved The Four Tops, I don’t remember “Bernadette”.
Michael, I wore out my copy of Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale”! Here’s a memory jogger for “Bernadette”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C_17FtGG6M
I wonder how often a group, 20 years later, wonders why they chose such an awful name.
Patti, sometimes the Record Company or the agent influences the name choice.
And unlike a few years later, I could sing almost all of these songs. At least the first couple of line. Great music.
Patti, 1967 was a year when I listened to music all the time (except in school where the teachers would “confiscate” transistor radios). I heard these songs hundreds of times and like you, knew all the words to most of them.
Wow. I don’t think there’s any song here that I don’t like.
Jeff, I’m with you: I like all the songs on this CD!
I’m with Jeff. I know EVERY song here, of course (what Jerry said about being old) and like most of them. Favorites? Groovin’, The Letter (also love the live Joe Cocker version), Happy Together (this was “our” song when Jackie and I were first going out that year), Rsspect.
I had left college (wrong school, wrong place and time) and was working in the city that year. I subscribed to Billboard magazine and checked their Hot 100 list every week. I bought a lot of 45s, including most Motown records. I’m not surprised by any of these, as I have been sending Deb the weekly surveys from WMCA, the local station I preferred to the behemoth WABC, from that year. FYI, the top 5 songs from this week in 1967 were Ode to Billie Joe (Bobbie Gentry), Reflections (The Supremes), All You Need is Love (The Beatles, down from #1), A Whiter Shade of Pale (also down from #1), and Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie (by Jay & the Techniques).
Give me 1967 music every day and I’m happy.
Jeff, same here! The music of 1967 still resonates with me!
I always look forward to the weekly chart from the 1960s that Jeff emails me. I especially like looking toward the bottom of the charts. It’s amazing how many weird and obscure songs peaked at around #38.
All good stuff here, George.
I was a high school freshman in 1967.
My locker partner gave me Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow for my birthday – and I still have it.
Beth, my wife considered SURREALISTIC PILLOW one of the best albums ever made and would often go back to it.
Jerry, if SURREALISTIC PILLOW was one of the best albums ever made, it sure was one of the most listenable!
Beth, I bought a copy of SURREALISTIC PILLOW in 1967 and played it constantly. And, I had a crush on Grace Slick, too!
I agree. I still remember that album too.
Holy Nostalgia, Batman, I remember all of these with great fondness. ’67 covered the spring semester of my junior year in high school, the summer following, and the fall semester of my senior year. My older daughter became a Monkees fan with their revival in the ’80s.
Fred, I agree with Michael about the underrated Monkees. Your older daughter has excellent taste!
I was in the Army in 1967 and left for Nam in July. Not a lot of music in my life then but I remember all those songs from somewhere.
Bob, while I was at Marquette University, I joined ROTC and became a Marksman on the Rifle Team. Upper-classman in ROTC were all sent to Vietnam at that time.
Thank you for your service.
Bob, my ROTC service was minor compared to you and other active veterans. I marched around a lot. I practiced with the Rifle Team. I took classes in Miliary History (my favorite part). I met some nice guys in ROTC and some clowns who aspired to be bureaucrats. But, with my 335 Draft Number, I felt like I got a Monopoly GET OUT OF JAIL FREE card.
Well, that might be least intolerable Shondells record. Otherwise, pretty solid…though that might be my least fave Monkees hit, as well. The near lack of Brit bands is odd.